Guilt by Association
by Aussiegirl41
Summary: Provenza is in a mood. It could be Sharon's fault. Or perhaps it's Jack's... Set just after 2.6 Boys Will Be Boys; but before 2.7 Rules of Engagement. Has slight spoilers for the former.


Louie knocked but waited outside Sharon's office for her signal before he entered, even though they'd long ago reached the entering-without-knocking stage in their professional relationship.

He wasn't in a very charitable mood this morning.

He'd seen a lot of crap murders in his time, but yesterday's was up there. Crap murder, crap outcome, for everyone involved. And then, just to top off his day, she and ol' Jackie boy had gone on a date.

"I just need a couple of signatures," he mumbled once he stepped into her office. It was neat and tidy; everything the former Chief's hadn't been. Her apartment was also stylish and clean. He hated clutter. Another thing they had in common...

She held out one hand for the paperwork and gestured to the seat in front her desk with the other.

He stretched out and passed her the forms, but remained standing.

She never said a word, but her eyebrow lifted just enough to show him she knew he was being deliberately stubborn and petty. He hadn't indulged in such power plays since... Hell, he couldn't even remember when he last had, or had last wanted to.

She interrupted his train of thought: "Tough one yesterday."

He peered at her suspiciously. Was she subtly reminding him how well they had worked together yesterday? Most days? Every day.

"Yep," he conceded. "It's always one of the damn family," he added miserably.

"We can pick our friends..." she started the old adage.

"Yeah, it was a sad indictment of our society."

Her lips twitched. "You're not going to start philosophizing on me, are you, Lieutenant?"

He just grunted, and then decided it was time to change the subject: "How did the kid go with the girl last night at that movie thing? He finally asked her out on a date, hey?"

"Not really..." She opened her mouth, but then shut it again. When she did finally speak, he knew it wasn't what she was originally going to say. "No, you still have another two weeks to go with the civility thing. Don't try and get out of it," she teased.

"I've forgotten," he admitted truthfully. He hadn't had to force himself to be polite to her for months, and she knew it. Well, not until _he_ returned. Since then Louie had felt less than civil toward everyone.

He'd known Jack when they were both a lot younger; so much younger he'd still been with wife number one. Jack had been a lawyer with a promising future, but the taste for the good life.

Career wise, they'd both had lofty ambitions in those days, and both of them had been willing to step over a lot of dead bodies, literally and metaphorically, to fulfil them. And now...

Now, Lieutenant was the highest rank he'd achieve before retirement, and he'd long ago split with wife number four. Jack was working pro bono in Reno until a few months back, if his sources were correct and, for some insane reason Louie couldn't comprehend, was still married to his first wife.

When he'd found out Sergeant Sharon Raydor, who'd accused his partner, Jimmy Green, of having an unnecessarily sexist attitude all those years ago, was Jack Raydor's wife, he'd instantly held it against her. Today, knowing she'd once fallen for that guy's false surface charm still annoyed the hell out of him.

She placed her pen on her blotter and looked up at him, her head tilted to one side. "Is there something you want to ask, Lieutenant? Something's on your mind?"

He pursed his lips out, and lowered his chin to his chest. "Nope."

"Lieutenant," she said his rank slowly, eloquently, "You and I... We're... Beyond this..." She waved her hand at the empty chair and grimaced.

He sniffed. "Has he found an apartment yet?" he blurted out, as usual speaking before thinking around her.

She didn't pretend to not know who he was talking about: "He's... Looking."

"Looking," he drawled. "Sure."

She pressed her lips together, and pushed the file to the front edge of her desk.

"You can email me the list of cold cases the squad's working on today when you get back to your desk."

He snatched up the paperwork and turned to go, knowing he'd been dismissed like a rookie. She was right, he might have assumed a paternal role in Rusty's life but that didn't give him any rights to question anything she did with her husband. After all, he could hardly throw stones.

"You were wrong today, Lieutenant," she said when his hand was poised on her office door's handle.

He slowly turned to face her again.

"About what?" he demanded a little more harshly than he'd intended.

"When you told Emma that you don't understand boys who think they're girls," she elaborated. "Your compassion and empathy are all you need to understand."

He flushed at her compliment. "I didn't think you were listening," he grouched. "I thought you were looking at the phone log."

She smirked. "I'm female."

His eyes lowered just a little. "I hadn't noticed," he lied.

"I can multitask," she explained.

"Uh-huh."

She smiled. A smile that said, 'I forgive you for being grumpy, and I still like you'. A smile he hoped she didn't bestow on Jack so often anymore.

She brought up the subject of his thoughts: "You don't like Jack at all, do you?"

"No," he answered quickly without a second thought. "It's not compulsory, is it? Liking the boss's husband?"

"No, no." He was pleased by the way she replied just as quickly, and to the negative.

She stood and circled her desk until they were face to face. "Did you ever like him?"

"What?" he asked, confused by her breathless question.

"I mean, is this animosity new, or did you and he have a falling out... A long time ago."

"Oh." He considered this for a long moment. Had he always hated Jack as much as he did now, or was it only his stupid urge to protect Sharon and Rusty that had elicited this reaction? "I never laughed at his jokes like some of the other guys," he finally settled on revealing.

"I did," she confessed. She pouted her bottom lip out just a touch. "I laughed and laughed."

"Until you cried?" he prompted softly.

She shrugged and looked away to stare at a spot on the carpet. "I guess so," she murmured.

He cleared his throat. "Anyway... I'll wait until he's gone before I visit... Rusty again."

"He might not go," she said.

He tensed up completely. For once he was at a complete loss on how to determine her statement, its implications, and his reaction to it. "You think he'll stick around?"

"He might..." She then focused on something over his shoulder. He swung around to check her line of sight. Rusty was in the main squad room, with Jack in tow. They both waved; Rusty to him, Jack to her.

"Whatever... It won't be in _my_ apartment," she said, that familiar steely determination he knew so well thankfully back in her tone. He was unwittingly pleased by the ways she'd stressed the word, 'my'.

He turned back to her. She was swaying slightly on her heels.

"Even then... Will he keep seeing... Rusty?" he asked.

A nerve twitched on her cheek. "Jack doesn't see my other children," she remarked, instantly adding Rusty to her own brood with her turn of phrase.

"He's the one missing out."

She laughed quietly. "You don't even know them, Lieutenant."

"I know you."

She delicately wiped at her nose.

"Thank you, Lieutenant. Rusty is..."

"A little vulnerable at the moment?" he guessed.

"That's nothing new. No, I..." She placed her hand on his arm before finishing: "I'm just glad you'll be here if Jack decides he's had enough of playing happy families."

"Lieutenant!"

Her hand fell away. Rusty and Jack had come into the office while his back was turned and his full attention had been focused on Sharon. They hadn't bothered to knock, he noted sourly.

"Rusty," he greeted the kid warmly, but gave his companion the smallest of nods.

Jack wasn't going to let him get away with that it seemed. "Lieutenant? You still here? Shouldn't you have retired by now?"

Rusty blinked from him to Jack and back again, obviously confused by the atmosphere the two men instantly created in the small space.

"Jack-"

Jack Raydor immediately cut off Sharon: "Or at least left my wife's office."

Both older men chose to ignore Sharon's sharp intake of breath. Louie was sure Jack was looking at his arm, where Sharon's hand had been resting just moments ago.

"As I work with her, it's difficult to avoid sometimes," he drawled sarcastically.

Jack's eyes flashed with impatience, but Louie held his gaze, daring him to say something else.

He took the opportunity to study Raydor a bit more. His face was particularly bloated and unhealthy looking today. Was he hitting the bottle again? Louie thought about leaning forward to check if he could smell alcohol. He could get Flynn to do it - his partner could smell alcohol on a person's breath a block away - but, unlike Louie, Andy seemed to have no issues with Jack's reappearance or the way he was constantly hanging around the office.

"Work _for_ her," Rusty interrupted.

Louie stared at the boy for a long moment and then, for the first time that day, he chuckled. Rusty didn't mean any offense; he was just so proud of his foster mom's occupation.

"On that note, Captain, I'll go and get that information you wanted."

She walked across to the doorway with him. "Thank you, Lieutenant," she said, her tone very formal, however she again reached out and squeezed his arm for the briefest of moments.

Once at his desk, he leaned back in his chair, openly watching through the glass panel into her office. Sykes and Flynn were yapping away, and no one took any notice of his preoccupation with the visual dynamics of Sharon's office.

Rusty was talking excitedly about something; Sharon was grimacing; and Jack was grinning like a Cheshire cat.

At one stage, Sharon's shoulders slumped and he had to fight the urge to barge back in there and find out what the conversation was all about.

Finally, he'd had enough and he righted his chair, snatched up his desk telephone, and pressed the first internal number which was programmed into it.

Sharon glanced down at her telephone when it began ringing. Obviously recognizing the number, she looked out through the glass straight at him before she slowly picked up.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" she answered tentatively.

"I should remind you I've done it four times if you need any advice."

He watched as she gave her head the tiniest of shakes. "Sorry?"

"Divorces. I been through four."

Remaining silent after this comment, she turned away, to where Rusty and Jack were now sitting in the visitors' chairs on the far side of her office.

"And I certainly am familiar with how a woman can bleed a man for every last penny in his account. For the rest of his miserable life," he added.

She snorted softly until it became a quiet giggle.

Next, she swivelled in her chair and looked out through the glass to hold his gaze.

"Let me assure you, Lieutenant, you'll be the first person I call if I decide to go down that path," she said huskily.

"Good. Because I... I know what to avoid with these things."

"The very first," she repeated as she disconnected. Next, she stood and donned her jacket, and she, Jack and Rusty left her office through the far door, heading for the break room.

He slowly hung up as well. His laptop pinged. He had mail. Work. Murders. Major crimes. Things that would distract him. Things he could maybe resolve. Once again, this was as good as his life was going to get.

The End


End file.
